Gentlemen
by xxkoffeexx
Summary: After saving Kyoko and Haru, Tsuna wonders if the mafia has a code of chivalry.


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Gentlemen

_By xxkoffeexx_

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

Special A/N: Thank you **E.M. Nemesis, Fullmetal Chrome**, **Garowyn **and **Hahana**. You guys are the best. Seriously.

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"Haru doesn't want to go. It's dangerous."

Kyoko paused, surprised. "The baseball park is dangerous?"

"It's very dangerous," emphasized Haru, glancing around nervously. "That place gives Haru bad memories!"

"But how? What happened?"

Haru squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, "The last time I came here… I nearly got killed!"

"E-Eh?" Kyoko's eyes widened. She didn't know it was _that_ dangerous. "Are you serious, Haru-chan?"

An emphatic nod. "By a baseball!"

"…Oh."

"And it was so fast! Haru almost thought it was a bomb. It zoomed right past my face—like this!" Haru gestured dramatically as they walked down the sidewalk. "And then there was a gigantic explosion. Kaboom! The wind swept past my hair and clothes because of the enormous force. Hahi! It was so scary! When I looked behind me, there was a huge hole in the brick wall. It was _solid_ brick, Kyoko-chan. Then a ninja came jumping over the wall through the smoke, and I screamed, and he—"

"Wait. A ninja?"

"Yes!" Haru's eyes were shining with fear—or excitement. "And he grabbed Haru—he covered my mouth—and then he whispered, 'Don't move. The Touga clan knows our secret!' Just like in the movies! And then Haru kicked him! In the shin! Hiyaah! Of course, my secret ninja skills came to me like a tsunami, and I defeated the 5 star ninja."

"Of course." Kyoko didn't ask what a 5 star ninja was.

"It was a long and hard battle—we fought at the beach, in the forest, on the mountains… even in the Shahara Desert!"

"Haru-chan, do you mean the 'Sahara Desert'?"

"That's exactly what Haru said. And then, in the great pyramids of Egypt, I danced with the mummies because they thought I was their Queen! So I said, 'I have traveled a long way. Now I have returned! Follow me, my loyal servants!' But then a great voice rumbled in Egyptian, and the pyramid began to shake and crumble! We ran, we ran out of the desert and came across an oasis with a single palm tree, and I fell to my knees and shouted, 'We made it, my love! We have arrived at last! We are _here_!'"

"We're here, Haru-chan."

Haru blinked. They were standing in Namimori Park, where the baseball field stood just to the right of the entrance. "Wait a minute—"

"Kyoko-chan! Haru! Over here!" On the field was none other than Tsuna and Yamamoto, both holding baseball gear. They waved, and Kyoko waved back. She nudged a motionless Haru.

"Come on, Haru-chan. Tsuna-kun invited us to watch them play baseball." When there was no response, Kyoko pulled Haru along.

Tsuna and Yamamoto were waiting for them. Kyoko asked, "Where's Onii-chan? And Gokudera-kun?"

"Kyoko's onii-chan is going to be late because of boxing. And Gokudera is… held up by Bianchi."

"Ah, I see. Well, Haru-chan and I will be watching from over there." Kyoko smiled, "Have fun, Tsuna-kun. Yamamoto-kun."

Yamamoto tossed and caught a baseball deftly with a grin, "Thanks! We will. Won't we, Tsuna?"

Tsuna smiled unconvincingly, "Eh heh, y-yeah." He eyed the ball nervously, not unlike the way Haru looked at the park.

As the girls walked toward a bench some ways off, Haru shook out of her daze and made a face, "Kyoko-chan is mean. You didn't tell me Tsuna-san was going to be here!"

"You were busy telling your ninja story, Haru-chan."

Haru sniffed, "It's called 'Haru and the Egyptian Ninja Queen.'"

Kyoko giggled, "I see."

:x:x:x:

An hour passed and the boys were still practicing. Gokudera and Ryohei had yet to show up, and Haru and Kyoko were laughing heartily about a movie they watched over the weekend. They were so engaged in their conversation they didn't notice their merriment was attracting a shady gang of high school boys off the park trail.

"And then, the guy went 'whoosh!' and he fell into the river! But—!"

"But it turned out he couldn't swim!"

Haru wiped a tear of laughter from her eye, "In the end he was saved by his girlfriend. It should be the other way around!"

Kyoko agreed, "Now it's the women being chivalrous."

"Seriously. I have yet to meet a single gentleman in our day and age."

"You're looking them right now."

They turned to see the said boys leering down at them, unpleasant smirks on their faces. Haru and Kyoko were immediately reminded of the beach "lifeguards," and they grew wary.

Haru frowned, "What do you want?"

The leader ignored her and leaned toward Kyoko, grinning suggestively, "Why don't you come hang out with us, little kitten? It'll be fun. I promise." She backed away from him, eyes wide.

"Hey, I think she's scared."

"Don't worry, we don't bite…much." They laughed loudly and not at all pleasantly.

"Stop it!" They stopped laughing when Haru glared up at them. "You are all brutes and most certainly not gentlemen. Don't you dare lay a dirty finger on Kyoko-chan!"

The leader stepped forward threateningly, "What did you—"

Haru flourished dramatically. "Take me instead!"

There was a loud pause. And then the gang burst out laughing, this time in pure hilarity. Haru blinked. The leader was still chuckling as he said, "No way. Your friend's cuter."

Haru's jaw dropped, highly offended. But to everyone's surprise, Kyoko suddenly spoke up indignantly, "Haru's much cuter than me!"

Her friend blinked, and protested, "Oh, no! Kyoko-chan's too nice." Kyoko shook her head.

"No, it's true. You have such pretty hair, Haru-chan."

"Oh, that's so sweet of you. But you have the cutest smile, Kyoko-chan! And I _love_ your clothes."

"Really? Thank you. But your shoes are really cute! Where did you get them?"

"Haru got them on sale, in the store next to the cake shop!"

The leader blinked. "Uh…?"

"Oh, that store? I was going to visit it, but I didn't know if it was my character…"

"Don't worry, Kyoko-chan! It's definitely your character." Haru held up a cell phone accessory. "See? A rabbit!" Kyoko immediately cooed, not hearing the leader attempt to get their attention.

"That's so _cute_! I'm going to visit that store soon."

"Let's go tomorrow! Haru wanted to buy some cakes anyways."

"Really? That's great!"

The gang stared at the girls and then their leader, not entirely sure what to do. He coughed and tried again, "'Scuse me? Hello?"

Kyoko was excited. "Then can we bring along Hana-chan?"

"Of course! In fact, why don't we go now?"

"Right now?" Kyoko shot a worried look at the gang, suddenly remembering them. Haru waved a dismissive hand.

"Right now. We can call Hana-chan, hurry to the cake shop, look around the cute store, and bring back some cake for the boys."

"Okay!"

"Wonderful!" Haru jumped up, stretching indifferently as if the high school gang was not staring. "Let's go, Kyoko-chan." Kyoko nodded and got up quickly.

One of the gang members nudged the leader, who suddenly snapped to focus and grabbed Kyoko's arm before she could walk away. He bared his teeth at her, "Where do you think you're going, _Kyoko-chan_?" This time he wasn't going to be distracted by their petty girl talk, and his grip tightened as if to prove it. She winced at the violent force.

Before he could say anything more, Haru stepped to the leader and, with a grim face, kicked him in the shin. Hard. He yelped and loosened his grip. Kyoko pulled away hurriedly.

Haru put out her arm in front of her friend, barring the leader's way. "A gentleman never touches a lady without permission," she declared, defiantly looking at him. "Haru disapproves." Kyoko was afraid Haru did not quite know who she was speaking to. The gang members thought so too. The leader cursed and stopped rubbing his shin, glaring furiously down at Haru.

He grabbed her collar roughly and snarled into her face, "I'm going to teach you a lesson."

And his hand rose up.

:x:x:x:

At first, Tsuna was nervous because he thought Kyoko was watching him. Yamamoto had been patiently teaching him how to properly catch a baseball, but if the past hour was any indication, he had yet to succeed. He hoped she wasn't watching, if only so she could be spared the embarrassing sight of him dropping a ball going the speed of a turtle.

He sighed and sneaked a glance at Kyoko, only to stare in horror. "Haru!" Without hesitation he broke into a sprint, hoping to reach them in time but knowing in his mind that it was impossible. If only Reborn was here instead of on business with Iemitsu. If only the Dying Will was…

The gang leader's hand stayed in the air for a second before it began to descend, clearly aiming for her face. Tsuna opened his mouth uselessly, but it was too late—

Suddenly something whizzed by, nearly taking off his ear. It hit the leader at 150 miles per hour, straight in his face before anyone could blink. He was out-cold long before he hit the ground.

The baseball rolled.

Tsuna almost didn't want to look, but with great effort he turned around jerkily to see Yamamoto still in his throwing motion. The baseball player's expression was deadly calm and serious, but his aura was that of a killing intent. Here it was, thought Tsuna in vague terror. Yamamoto's hitman side. The natural-born killer.

There was a moment of confusion as what just happened began to register. Once it did, the remaining gang members panicked. They were like a snake without its head, and just now they had witnessed the world's fastest removal of a person. In panic, one of them made the mistake of grabbing Kyoko, thinking that with a hostage he was safe from another invisible attack.

"_Extreme_!" A barrage of lethal punches came out of nowhere, connecting with the unfortunate gang member's solar plexus. "Don't touch my sister!"

Kyoko opened her eyes and smiled at her savior in relief. "Onii-chan!"

Ryohei flashed a grin at her, "Sorry I'm late, Kyoko!" before engaging another gang member in a fight.

"Oi." There was a sizzling sound as Gokudera stepped into the fray, an expression of bored disdain on his face. The gang members paled as they recognized the explosives displayed in one hand. He threw them with careless precision, "Explode!" Of course, they exploded, and well away from the girls.

Still, Ryohei coughed after the smoke settled and growled, "Hey, watch it, Octopus-Head!"

"What are you complaining about, Lawn-Head? It took care of them." Indeed, the gang members were sprawled all over the ground, clearly out of commission.

"Everyone!" Tsuna and Yamamoto ran to them. Tsuna took in the damage and was relieved to see them all unhurt. "Kyoko-chan, Haru, are you all right?" Those guys didn't do anything else to them, did they?

But Kyoko and Haru was paying attention to something entirely different.

"How gallant! Haru-chan, do you know what I'm thinking?"

"Definitely!" She smiled proudly at the boys who saved them. "Tsuna-san's friends are true _gentlemen_!"

They stopped. "Huh?"

Kyoko smiled fondly at her brother, "Onii-chan, I'm so glad. You help other girls when they're in trouble too, right? That's why you care so much about boxing!"

The Sun Guardian blinked, "Eh? Uh, yeah. That's right, Kyoko." Tsuna gaped at this complete and utter lie.

"You too, Gokudera-kun."

He flinched as Kyoko and Haru turned on him warmly. "What? I'm not like Lawn-Head!"

"Gokudera-san must be a gentleman deep inside," observed Haru, for once approving him. "Even if a strange girl was being attacked by a 5 star ninja, Gokudera-san would immediately come to her rescue."

He stared at her. "Are you crazy?"

Tsuna wholeheartedly agreed with him. "You're both wrong. We're not gentlemen." They were _Mafia_ for goodness sake, and the Mafia was not particularly known for their code of chivalry.

But the girls were firm in their belief. In their eyes, Tsuna and his friends were modern-day chivalrous knights. Nothing could change that.

Haru stooped down to pick up the baseball that had saved her. "I was scared at first of this ball. I didn't even want to get near the baseball field because of it." She smiled slightly and turned to Yamamoto. "But Haru realizes how wrong she was. This ball—it is proof that gentlemen still exist today. From now on, I will recognize it as a symbol of chivalry and security!"

Yamamoto watched bemusedly as she took his hand and placed the suddenly significant ball in his palm. It felt the same as when he held it, just before he nailed the gang leader in the face. But for some reason, the weight of the ball seemed lighter, almost as if it could fly from his hand and deliver the protection Haru claimed it would. His fingers tightened around it.

Haru was smiling up at him in absolute trust and confidence. "Thank you."

He smiled back, aware of something bigger that was moving, shifting, and taking place right now in this very moment. As if the future years would be filled with the same responsibility as today, only, much bigger and dangerous and _just as_ worth it. Tsuna, Gokudera, and Ryohei could feel it too.

"No problem."

Kyoko glanced at her watch. "We should be going home now," she commented. "It's almost time for dinner."

"Oh yeah!" Ryohei turned to Tsuna, "Your mother said she had dinner ready for all of us. Right, Octopus-Head?"

"Cheh. She didn't invite _you_, Lawn-Head!"

"What was that?!"

"Come on, you two! Everyone's invited!"

"Hahi! Oh yeah, Yamamoto-san?"

"Yeah?"

"Can Haru have that baseball?"

"E-Eh?"

"Thank you very much, Yamamoto-_kun_!"

"Hey, wait. Haru!"

END

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A/N: Oh. Er… this fic was supposed to be released before "Allusions." Hehe. Oh well. And I have to say, this one-shot was originally shorter, but as I typed, it got longer and longer, and I was like, "Ah, what the heck with it!" And this is the result. XD A sorta YamaxHaru.

As for Gokudera and Ryohei's insults, I took the English versions… I'm not sure how to spell the Japanese ones. I also really enjoy writing about Ryohei. He's my third fav guy character, after Yamamoto and Hibari. XB What happens to the gang members? Eh. Whatever you want to happen to them, I suppose. I'm kind of lazy like that.

Hopefully the short plotline made sense. I'm typing this kinda late at night (as always) and as such, I have no idea if my brain is functioning properly. Heh. Are the characters acting right? Are they saying the right things? Or am I being absolutely idiotic?

Anyways, thanks so much for reading! Please come to the YamaxHaru world again!

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